Copyright is a system of law designed to give creators of original works the right to control the ways in which their work is used. Protected works include written material, dramatic works, music, computer programs, websites, databases, sound recordings, films, broadcasts, translations and typographical layout. Works do not have to be published to be protected.
Copyright lasts for a fixed term period. This varies depending on the format of the work in question, but as a general rule copyright expires 70 years after the death of the creator. After this time works fall into the Public Domain.
At Roehampton we want to ensure that staff and students remain legally compliant when using resources created by others. If you use third-party copyright materials as a part of your teaching or research, you need to make sure that your usage is legal.
Any work which is written or recorded in any form - including literary, dramatic and artistic works, film and broadcasts, typography of published editions, sound recordings, and more - is protected by copyright. Ideas are not subject to copyright, but they can be covered by patent law.
Copyright is generally held by the creator of the work. However, copyright is an asset that can be bought and sold and creators can assign their copyright to a third-party. This is especially common in academic publishing where journal publishers usually require an author to assign their copyright to any articles published to the publisher. Additionally, the copyright to anything created by employees over the course of their employment would reside with the employer. Similarly, works produced under commission generally belong to organisation who commissioned the work, not the creator.
As a general rule, copyright lasts for 70 years after the death of an author/creator. If the work has several authors, the period of protection will last for 70 years following the death of the last surviving author. There are some exceptions to this, such as unpublished works, which may be treated differently. Further examples of copyright duration for different types of material are:
Literary & artistic works: 70 years after death of author. If there are several authors, 70 years following death of last surviving author.
Dramatic & musical work: 70 years after death of creator, or 70 years after publication if no named author.
Sound recordings: 70 years after recording date.
Films: these may contain several layers of copyright protection, including the screenplay and soundtrack. Generally, 70 years after the last of these has died: director, producer, author of screenplay, composer of soundtrack.
Broadcasts: 50 years after date of broadcast.
Typographical layout: 25 years after publication.
Crown Copyright: 125 years after publication but subject to a waiver.
Unpublished works made before 1 August 1989: Copyright expires on 31 December 2039.
Who Owns the Copyright?
The author or a creator of a work is normally the copyright holder, but this isn't always the case. For example, if a work is created by an employee in the course of their employment, the employer owns the copyright. Additionally, copyright is an asset that can be sold or gifted. It is common practice for academic journals to require authors to assign the copyright to their article over to the journal publishers before publication – so the author of an article may not necessarily be the copyright holder.
Public Domain
After copyright on a work has expired, it falls into the Public Domain. This means that the work has effectively become public property and may be used freely without the permission of the author/creator. If a work has fallen into the public domain, then it is free to use in any way you see fit, without the need for permission, a licence or even attribution. However, you must remember that the public domain is territory-specific. A work may be public domain in the US, but it is not necessarily free to use in the UK, as copyright laws can differ internationally.
Other Considerations
It is a common misconception that materials that are readily available, especially online, are not subject to copyright; but public availability is not the same as public domain. All works are under copyright, both digital and in print, until their copyright term expires.
It is not enough to just provide a reference when you use copyrighted materials, for instance, reproducing a photograph. Although this is good academic practice, this will not avoid copyright infringement. The copyright owner's express permission is required to reuse copyrighted materials, or the usage must fall under the terms of a licence or a Fair Dealing exception within UK law.
Social Media
Beware of what you post on social media platforms! Key points to note:
International considerations: Brexit
Even though the UK has now left the EU, most UK copyright works remain protected in EU countries (and vice versa), because international treaties on copyright still apply.
However, since Brexit, certain EU directives no longer apply in the UK. For example, the EU Copyright Directive allowed libraries and museums to reproduce orphan works (those for which the copyright owner cannot be traced) online. One impact of the UK’s decision not to implement this directive is that the British Library has had to remove most digitised copies of feminist magazine Spare Rib from their web site.
Other international considerations:
This page presents general information about copyright. It is not intended to constitute legal advice.
Copyright is still a concern in Moodle, even though it is password-protected and restricted to Roehampton students and staff. Simply placing copyrighted materials within a password protected environment does not make it legal. You must therefore only upload items to Moodle when either you or the University are the copyright holder, or if the material is available under licence. Providing links to copyrighted material available online is preferable to uploading it to Moodle.
If you have used copyrighted material in your lecture or teaching materials, it is normally acceptable to include this when you add the slides to Moodle, provided that your use of the material falls under one of the exceptions to copyright.
Remember that access to your Moodle site will be restricted to the same class as your teaching sessions.
You may not personally scan and upload extracts from books or journal articles into Moodle. All digitisation must be done by the Library Digitisation Service under the terms of the CLA (Copyright Licensing Agency) Licence. Digitisations are requested via the Talis Aspire Resource List software. Please see instructions on How to Request Digitisations; you will need to specify the chapter and page numbers required.
We are aware that some colleagues download PDFs of articles in our current subscribed resources and upload these to their Moodle sites to improve the ease of access for their students. This usually violates the terms and conditions of the journal or resource. Please provide links to journal articles via the library subscriptions; this can easily be done using the Talis Aspire Resource List software.
In general, you will only be permitted to reuse a copyrighted work if you are the rights holder, if you have express permission from the rights holder or if the work is available under certain types of licence (see above). However, a limited use of third-party copyright material in teaching materials can be permitted under a statutory exception to copyright law known as Fair Dealing.
Fair Dealing makes provision within the law to legally reproduce limited sections of copyrighted work. It covers reproduction of published material for criticism and review, non-commercial research, and teaching, with certain restrictions.
When producing teaching materials, you can use limited amounts of copyrighted materials under the exceptions for Illustration for Instruction (s.32 CDPA), with the following restrictions:
Provided your usage meets all five of these criteria, then your use could be said to be Fair Dealing.
Fair Dealing does not cover materials that may otherwise be available under the terms of a licence. Under s.36 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (Reprographic copying by educational establishments) it is possible to put an extract from a copyright work within the secure VLE for access by students and staff provided the purpose is limited to instruction for a non-commercial purpose and within the extent limits. However, s.36 only applies where there is no licence available for the work. So where a work is covered by the CLA or ERA licence, fair dealing does not apply and we must abide by the terms of this licence.
For more information about Fair Dealing and teaching, please refer to government guidance here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright#teaching.
Linking to free online content is not generally an issue, and is probably the safest way to provide access to copyrighted material found online. The European Court of Justice stated in a 2014 decision that doing this did not breach copyright law.
Good practice for external linking would involve having the link open in a new tab or window, to emphasise that the item is an external resource and belongs to another website.
The case for this is different if the links bypass pay-walled content, such as with journals and other library subscriptions. This would be a breach of copyright. You should also avoid linking to any sites which clearly breach copyright, such as film piracy sites.
It is normally possible to use copyrighted images for the purposes of education, either under licence or under the terms of an exception to copyright.
Images taken from books may be digitised and used under the terms of our CLA (Copyright Licensing Agency) Licence.
Images found elsewhere, such as on the internet, can only be used under the terms of an exception to copyright law known as Fair Dealing. For such a use to be acceptable, the image must be directly related to your teaching, and it must also be fully referenced.
Many images can be found online that have been licensed under Creative Commons, and therefore may be used more freely.
Photographs, illustrations, paintings, diagrams, and other forms of image are protected by copyright. This is usually for the term of the creator's life, plus 70 years. Following this period, works fall into the public domain.
Fair Dealing Exceptions
When producing teaching materials, you can use limited amounts of copyrighted materials under the exceptions for Illustration for Instruction (s.32 CDPA), with the following restrictions:
The work must be directly related to your teaching, and not included for decorative purposes.
You only use the amount that is necessary to make the point
Full attribution of the source must be given (unless doing so is impossible, such as in examinations)
The usage must not infringe the commercial rights of the copyright holder, impact on commercial sales of the original or thereby render the need for students' to purchase their own copies unnecessary
The work is not available under the terms of a licence held by the University
Provided your usage meets all five of these criteria, then your use could be said to be Fair Dealing.
For more information about Fair Dealing and teaching, please refer to government guidance here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright#teaching.
You can also use media that has an open licence, such as Creative Commons. CC Licencing allows creators to licence their own work for free reuse, with certain restrictions – normally works under this licence just require attribution, but some prevent commercial reuse or creating derivative works. CC Licencing does not replace copyright; you need to abide by any restrictions on the licence, or doing so is a violation of copyright. You can easily find images licenced for reuse under Creative Commons using the Creative Commons Search. You can also use materials available in Open Educational Resources, which can be searched for using the OER Commons. CC Licencing does not replace copyright; you need to abide by any restrictions on the licence, or doing so is a violation of copyright.
You cannot generally download or use images from Google or similar commercial search engines without seeking permission from the copyright holder, unless your use falls within one of the exceptions. Google is simply a search engine that scans the internet and provides the searcher with any relevant results – copyright holders do not upload their images to Google for free use. If you click on the image you are usually guided to the source website where you might be able to contact the copyright holder for permission. You can also use the Creative Commons Search to search Google Images for works that have a CC licence.
Other forms of open licences in the UK include the Open Government Licence, which covers crown copyright materials and a wide range of data from government and public sector sources.
While data and facts are not eligible for copyright protection, it is possible for the visual display of data to be copyrighted. So graphs, diagrams and charts may be protected by copyright.
Copyright covers all video and filmed materials, in the same way as any other type of work.
Broadcast material may be used for educational purposes under the terms of the University's ERA (Education Recording Agency) Licence. This is managed via the Roehampton Online Broadcasts (ROB) service. Video content made available under the ERA Licence can be used in teaching and placed in Moodle sites without infringing copyright.
Some video material that has been licensed under Creative Commons may be used more freely, but with certain conditions (such as requiring full attribution, and/or a non-commercial purpose).
Other copyright-protected film content may be used in onsite teaching sessions, if covered by an exception in copyright law known as Fair Dealing. Fair Dealing requires:
It is not generally advisable to reproduce such content in Moodle sites.
Further restrictions apply to using copyrighted material in remote teaching, for instance streaming films for an online class. See below for more detail.
Film works, including videos published online, are protected for the life of the principal crew (usually the producer, principal director, and writers of screenplay, script and soundtrack) plus 70 years. Broadcast programmes (television, radio, etc.) are protected for 50 years following the date of broadcast. Following this period, works fall into the public domain.
Most uses of video at the University of Roehampton will be covered under the terms of our ERA Licence. The Educational Recording Agency (ERA) issues individual and blanket licences that allow staff at educational establishments to record broadcast material for non-commercial educational purposes. Any content found on Roehampton Online Broadcasts (ROB) can be shared, screened in class, embedded in Moodle and otherwise used for education purposes without restriction, although a Roehampton login is required for access.
The Library also provides access to a range of film content licensed for educational use via various subscription databases. See our Audiovisual Resources guide for a full list.
You can also use media that has an open licence, such as Creative Commons. CC Licensing allows creators to license their own work for free reuse, with certain restrictions; usually a simple author attribution is required, but some also prevent commercial reuse, or creation of derivative works. You can easily find video content licensed for reuse this way via the Creative Commons Search.
Many organisations release their videos with an open licence to allow reuse, including Ted Talks and NASA. You can also use materials available in Open Educational Resources, which you can find via OER Commons. Other forms of open licences in the UK include the Open Government Licence, which covers crown copyright materials and a wide range of data from government and public sector sources.
Note: CC and Open Licensing does not replace copyright; any failure to abide by the licence restrictions would be a violation of copyright.
Any other video content may only be used under the terms of a statutory exception to copyright law known as Fair Dealing. This allows reproduction of limited amounts of published material for the purposes of: criticism and review; non-commercial research; and teaching. The exceptions for Illustration for Instruction (s.32 CDPA) permit you to use a certain amount of copyrighted work in your teaching materials, with the following restrictions:
Provided your usage meets all five of these criteria, then it should qualify as Fair Dealing.
For more information about Fair Dealing and teaching, please refer to government guidance here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright#teaching.
The above advice applies only to onsite teaching, for example, showing a DVD or ROB video in a classroom on campus. There are other considerations when streaming films for teaching online, which may be necessary if staff and students are unable to access the Library’s DVD collection and onsite viewing/screening facilities.
Most material that is covered by the ERA or CC/Open licences outlined above may be streamed for teaching purposes, so we recommended using licensed sources such as those listed on our Audiovisual Resources guide. (Please note, however, that some, such as Kanopy, do not allow screenshots, nor screen sharing via videoconferencing software such as MS Teams).
For other copyrighted material, however, the Fair Dealing exception outlined above will not apply to showing films online, as this is outside of the university premises and could be deemed a public showing, since you cannot control who is watching. There is yet to be a test case on this in UK law, but there are certain scenarios in which it may be permissible:
Of course, if you own the rights to content you have created, then you can grant this permission.
Please note that the above exceptions may not apply for students based abroad, as copyright law is likely to be different in other countries, and the ERA licence and Fair Dealing exception apply only in the UK.
Also, unless you have the express permission of the copyright holder(s):
If a film is not available via any of the above options, we may be able to investigate obtaining permission by contacting the rights holder on your behalf. Please contact LibraryEngagement@roehampton.ac.uk well in advance of the date on which the film will be required (bearing in mind that this is more likely to succeed with small independent filmmakers, rather than large corporations).
This page presents general information about copyright. It is not intended to constitute legal advice.
The usual restrictions on using copyrighted material apply when using Lecture Capture. This is because when recording lectures you are making another copy, and therefore may infringe copyright.
Copyright law generally prohibits use of any copyrighted material that the University of Roehampton or the lecturer doesn't currently hold redistribution rights for being included in a recorded lecture.
Material which has not been produced by you (i.e. third party material) may require permission for inclusion, unless the material is available under an open licence, such as Creative Commons, has been scanned under the terms of the CLA Licence or the material is out of copyright. Material that might be acceptable to use in a lecture, under the terms of a licence or under Fair Dealing, may not necessarily be permitted in a recorded lecture.
Consent to must be sought from lecturers and any students who may be included in the recording, as they may hold certain performance rights.
You are responsible for making sure that your recorded lectures do not infringe copyright.
The copyright to a lecture created and delivered by a member of Roehampton staff (or anything else created as a part of their normal employment) is legally the property of the university. The university may therefore use and distribute this work as they see fit, and permission is not needed to include these materials in a recorded lecture. However permission should be sought from lecturers prior to recording, as they will retain performance rights to their lectures (see below).
Lectures given by guest or visiting lecturers, or other individuals not in the direct employ of the university, are not the property of the university. Additional permission must be sought to record or otherwise copy, store or reuse materials from these lectures.
Students should also be notified if a recording taking place, especially if they will be asked to participate. It is advisable to provide notices to all attendees that a recording is taking place, the purpose of the recording and to whom it will be made available – students who do not wish to be recorded should be allowed to 'opt-out'.
Performance Rights are related to copyright, but are a different form of intellectual property right. Performance rights cover dramatic and musical performances, as well as recitations of literary works, and is unique to that particular performance. Performance rights, like copyright, can be sold or licensed, but the performer will always retain the moral right to be identified as the creator of the work.
Lectures, as a form of live communication to others of opinions, thoughts and interpretation would be covered by the definition of 'performance'.
Unlike copyright, the performer is the first owner of the performance, not the employer. Recorded lectures, therefore, require the consent of any performers who may form part of the session. This criteria can also include students, if they participate in the lecture. In that case, each contributor may own rights in their individual 'performance' and their consent will also be required to distribute the recording.
It is therefore generally better to ask lecturers to 'opt-in' to having their lectures recorded, which allows the relevant permissions to be obtained prior to recording.
Although it may be legal under the terms of exceptions to copyright law to use certain materials within a class, it does not necessarily make it legal to include them within a recording and/or upload these to Moodle. Caution in this area is always advisable.
Some digitised printed material that has been made under the terms of the CLA Licence may be included in recordings. This includes scans from books and journals, including images. In these cases such a recording may only be made available to the same group of students to whom the lecture was originally presented and stored copies are restricted to the duration of the licence. If the lecture is stored beyond the end of an academic year, the scanned material must be reported again to CLA, and for every subsequent year.
Downloaded podcasts are generally considered safe to use in recorded lectures, since the act of downloading them is itself a means of copying, so there is an implied licence allowing their copying and use, unless there is an accompanying statement specifically precluding this.
In other cases, it is best to seek the copyright holder's permission to use their material in a recorded lecture, or try to source an alternative available under Creative Commons or other open licences.
You will normally be allowed to use your own material, as either you or university will hold the copyright to it. However, ensure you check any arrangements you have made with a publisher before using your own material in a recorded lecture. You may have signed away the copyright or agreed to restrictions on the use of the material. In these cases, you may have to seek permission from the publisher.
If permission cannot be obtained, then the infringing material can be removed from the recording. The removed material can be supplemented with links on Moodle, if the content is otherwise available online.
Chapters from books and articles from print journals may be digitised and made available via Moodle or your Resource List. The CLA (Copyright Licencing Agency) Licence allows us to digitise from most printed books, journals and magazines produced in the UK, as well as some overseas publications. To check if a publication is included in the licence, please refer to the CLA Permissions Checker.
You are not permitted to personally scan chapters or articles and make these available on Moodle or through any other means. All scanning must be done by the Digitisation Service in the Library and reported to the CLA.
Digitisations must be requested via Talis Aspire Resource List software. Please see instructions on 'How to Request Digitisations' below (you will need to specify the chapter/pages required), or contact the Academic Engagement Team.
The terms of the CLA Licence allow us to digitise extracts of printed material, with the following restrictions:
one chapter of a book
one article from a journal
one paper from one set of conference proceedings
one scene from a play
one poem/story(not exceeding 10 pages in length) from an anthology
one case of one report of judicial proceedings
or 10% of any of the above (whichever is the greater)
Some publications are excluded from the CLA Licence, particularly overseas publications, and may not be digitised.
All digitisation done under the CLA licence must be done by the Digitisation service in the library and reported to the CLA. Under the terms of the Licence the University of Roehampton has the responsibility to ensure that access is controlled and secure, and that scanned items can only be made accessible to students on courses for which they are enrolled.
Licences take legal precedence over Fair Dealing exceptions to copyright law. If a work is available under licence, then Fair Dealing does not apply. In the case of book and journal extracts, this means that all scanning and digitising must normally be done under the terms of the University's CLA Licence.
For the purposes of non-commercial research or private study, a limited use of copyrighted material can be permitted under a statutory exception to copyright law known as Fair Dealing.
This must be for personal use only, so cannot be done on behalf of students of colleagues. This also applies only to non-commercial research. As with all fair dealing exceptions, copying for research or study purposes must also be considered "fair".
Fair Dealing makes provision within the law to legally reproduce limited sections of copyrighted work for the purposes of research. It covers reproduction of published material for criticism and review and non-commercial research with certain restrictions. For research, these restrictions are:
The purpose of the use is for non-commercial research and/or private study
The use of the materials can be considered fair (i.e. the amount you use is not excessive and does not impact on the commercial rights of the publisher)
The use is made by researchers or students for their own use only
Researchers give credit to the copyright holder (this is both good academic practice and a legal requirement!)
This exception applies only to non-commercial research. This covers research that is not, either directly or indirectly, for profit. Therefore exception this will not normally include research done for publication with commercial publishers.
This exception does not permit making multiple copies for third parties, even if the copies are intended for private research. Therefore, copies of works cannot be made to share with staff/students groups or uploaded to Moodle under the terms of this exception.
For more information about copyright and research, please refer to government guidance below.
Copyright law applies to staff and students at partner institutions in the same way as it applies at Roehampton.
Copyrighted material can only be used if you have the express permission of the copyright holder, it is available under licence (where applicable), or if your usage falls under one of the Fair Dealing exceptions to UK copyright law (UK-based partnerships only).
Copyright is a territorial law. Overseas partnerships must ensure they are abiding by the terms of the law in their country. UK Copyright law and associated exceptions will not apply in these cases.
Fair Dealing makes provision within the law to legally reproduce limited sections of copyrighted work. It covers reproduction of published material for criticism and review, non-commercial research, and teaching, with certain restrictions.
When producing teaching materials, you can use limited amounts of copyrighted materials under the exceptions for Illustration for Instruction (s.32 CDPA), with the following restrictions:
The work must be directly related to your teaching, and not included for decorative purposes.
You only use the amount that is necessary to make the point
Full attribution of the source must be given (unless doing so is impossible, such as in examinations)
The usage must not infringe the commercial rights of the copyright holder, impact on commercial sales of the original or thereby render the need for students' to purchase their own copies unnecessary
The work is not available under the terms of a licence held by the University and/or the Partnership College
Provided your usage meets all five of these criteria, then your use could be said to be Fair Dealing.
Fair Dealing only applies to UK law. If a partnership is based outside of the UK this exception, as described above, will not apply. Other countries often have similar exceptions to their copyright laws for the purposes of teaching or education. You are advised to check your country's legal guidance.
Roehampton's CLA Licence may be extended to certain partnership institutions. As long as the scanned copies are prepared by a designated person who is a member of staff at the University of Roehampton, the copies can be made available to registered students of the University of Roehampton at partner institutions.
Copies may only be made in the UK, not by staff and students based overseas. Students based outside the UK have the same rights as UK based students to receive photocopies and to view, download and print digital copies.
Partnership institutions are not normally covered by the ERA Licence at the University of Roehampton, and should investigate their own licence.
Overseas staff and students may not make use of material made available under the terms of the ERA Licence. Supplying recordings in either hard copy form or by electronic means to students outside the UK is explicitly forbidden under the terms of the ERA Licence. This restriction is currently under review by the European Commission and may change in the future.
Creative Commons is a worldwide licence. Any individuals, no matter where in the world they are located, may reuse material that has been made available under CC Licence. You can easily find materials licensed for reuse under Creative Commons using the Creative Commons Search. You can also use materials available in Open Educational Resources, which can be searched for using the OER Commons. CC Licensing does not replace copyright; you need to abide by any restrictions on the licence, or doing so is a violation of copyright.